So I’m walking down the street and I hear this bang, this huge freakin’ bang, and I’m like “what was that?” Then this bird falls right onto the top of the storefront. I look up, feathers floating down everywhere. It must’ve ran into the building.

A bunch of us gather around this bird that’s lying on the ground, not dead at all. Its eyes are wide with terror. Something seems different about this animal. I kept thinking it was looking at me. A few people were asking if we should do anything, if we should call anybody. Who is there to call? When somebody offered to drop it in the trash, all he got was dirty looks, so he walked away.

I couldn’t handle all of that, what to do and all of that, so I ducked into the store. I don’t know why I didn’t just leave. It was some florist that I never knew existed. They had a modest arrangements of flowers outside, but nothing that stuck out to me. There was just a little man in the back behind a counter, and he could hardly see me it was so stuffed in there. The smell of cleaning fluid and plant permeated around me, and I began to calm down I think.

People began to disperse outside. I brought my hand to a soft pink-colored carnation, the edges turning red like the blood insides of a peach. I leaned in and took in the smell. Such a small thing. I felt a lot better.